Generally allowing high-speed telecommunications of a large amount of information, optical cables including optical fibers (referred to also as fiber-optic cables) are in widespread use for home telecommunications and industrial telecommunications. For example, the optical cables are frequently used for optical communications in a variety of electrical components (e.g., a car navigation system) installed in automobiles. With this improving optical communications, a variety of optical connectors (referred to also as fiber-optic connectors) arranged to optically connect ends of optical fibers (to connect ends of optical fibers so as to transmit optical signals) have been proposed.
A ferrule arranged to hold the end of the optical fiber is disposed in each optical connector. The optical fiber is fixed to the ferrule such that the end of the optical fiber is on a level with the top end of the ferrule, whereby the top end of the ferrule and the top end of a ferrule of a counterpart optical connector are butted against each other. Thus, the ends of the optical fibers are optically connected.
In this type of optical connector, a tube-shaped member referred to as a split sleeve is used in order to prevent axis deviation of the butted ferrules (optical fibers) as disclosed in PTLs 1 to 3, for example. The split sleeve is generally housed inside of a housing (a split-sleeve accommodating portion) of one optical connector, where the ferrule of the one optical connector is inserted into the split sleeve. When the one optical connector is fitted into the other optical connector, the ferrule of the other optical connector gets into the split sleeve to be butted against the ferrule of the one optical connector. Including a slit along its axial direction, the split sleeve holds the ferrules of the one optical connector and the other optical connector, which are inserted into the split sleeve, so as to tighten them inward by its elastic force. That is, the ferrules of the one optical connector and the other optical connector are held by the split sleeve without rattling in the split sleeve, which can prevent axis deviation of the butted ferrules.